Feeling no more struggling from Kagaribi, Cyan Wei stopped in her tracks, a bit surprised. She glanced at Kagaribi, who had fainted from the overwhelming shock, and continued running toward the outskirts of Cloud Hunt Village.
Reaching the perimeter wall, she shifted to holding the unconscious Kagaribi with both hands and crouched slightly to build power. Cyan Wei leaped several meters high, easily scaling the wall. After landing on the other side, she ran into the forest without stopping.
"Kagaribi... Kagaribi..."
After an unknown amount of time, the fingers of Basara the Executioner's corpse twitched. His hatred for Zankuro Minazuki and his love for Kagaribi filled his soul with resentment.
Clang!
Chains wrapped around Basara's left wrist, forming a shackle. The chains extended, forming a triple-bladed shuriken in his hand. His black hair turned blue from the roots, and his brown pants were stained a blood-red color.
Basara, having died with a grievance, had returned from hell as a demon!
"Kagaribi... wait for me... I will find you now! Hee! Hehe... Hahaha!"
Basara laughed painfully and madly. Under the influence of the resentment, he became even more deranged and hysterical. His figure merged into the shadows, moving rapidly into the distance.
"A demon's aura..."
Zankuro Minazuki, who was about to kill another survivor, lowered his butcher blade. He turned his head to look into the distance. After glancing at the man who had wetted his pants in fear, he let out a cold snort and chased after the direction where the demon had appeared.
Trembling, Chen Xiaoxue watched the terrifying figure disappear. Xue crawled away using both her hands and feet, looking at the surrounding corpses as tears flowed uncontrollably.
For someone who had attempted suicide, she should have been indifferent to life and death. However, after escaping from Zankuro's blade, Xue regretted it. She regretted jumping off a building over a trivial matter. Now, she only wanted to go home, throw herself into her mother's arms, and feel the warmth of home.
In the forest, Cyan Wei stopped. She cautiously perceived everything around her. After confirming there was no danger, she set down the unconscious Kagaribi.
Suddenly, she dashed to the side. There was a faint cry from a small animal, and then she walked back carrying a grey-furred wild rabbit with a crushed head.
She violently tore open the rabbit's body, stripped away the inedible skin, and took a bite of the bloody meat.
Waking from her coma, Kagaribi heard the spine-chilling sound of chewing before she even opened her eyes. When she did, she saw this bloody scene. She covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes wide with shock. She instinctively backed away, wanting to get away from this terrifying and barbaric "youth." Aside from wild beasts, she had never seen a human behave so savagely.
"Want... eat?"
Seeing Kagaribi awake, Cyan Wei held up the half-eaten rabbit, which was still dripping with blood. Kagaribi shook her head violently, retreating even faster.
Cyan Wei stood up, looking warily at the shadow beneath Kagaribi's feet. A figure emerged from the darkness.
"Kagaribi... Kagaribi... I found you..."
"Basara?!"
Kagaribi looked at Basara emerging from the shadows in disbelief. Just as she was about to reach out to see if he was real or a hallucination, a faster figure reached Basara and sent him flying with a punch.
"What are you doing?!"
Kagaribi looked at the fallen Basara, turning toward Cyan Wei with a mix of anger and confusion.
"Dan... gerous..."
Cyan Wei ignored Kagaribi's gaze, standing in front of her and watching Basara warily. The punch she just landed on Basara didn't feel like hitting flesh; it felt like hitting something cold, soft, and strange.
Is this a demon?
Cyan Wei glanced at her fist and stared at Basara as he climbed off the ground.
"Basara!"
Kagaribi ran past Cyan Wei toward Basara.
"..."
Cyan Wei watched Kagaribi in silence, her brow furrowing. A flash of irritation crossed her expressionless face.
"It really is Basara..."
Kagaribi reached Basara and embraced him. As she touched his cold cheeks, tears fell from her eyes.
"The feast of blood is about to begin... Kagaribi... come with me... to that world!"
As Basara felt the warmth of Kagaribi's body, the love in his eyes was replaced by madness. The chains of The Evil-Doer Destroyer wrapped around Kagaribi. He held her body tightly—no longer the embrace of a lover, but a deadly grip meant to kill. The spinning blades swung toward both their heads.
"Basara... why..."
Kagaribi looked at Basara with sorrow. What could be more tragic than the person you love trying to kill you in a fit of madness?
Cyan Wei kicked the middle of the weapon. The triple-bladed shuriken, which was spinning toward Kagaribi's head, flew into the air, stopped rotating, and thudded onto the ground.
"Why... why... why! Why must you stop me and Kagaribi from being together forever!" The mad Basara turned to attack the one interfering.
The spinning The Evil-Doer Destroyer attacked Cyan Wei from a tricky and eerie angle.
The effect of her perception attribute was fully realized at this moment. Cyan Wei sensed the direction of the attack and instinctively dodged. Her movements weren't like those of a human; she twisted her body, evading the attack that looked dangerous but only grazed her clothes.
My turn...
Feeling a bit of fire in her heart after dodging the attacks, Cyan Wei launched a counter-strike. As her figure flashed past Basara, she landed a punch on his neck. Then, grabbing the chain on his left wrist with her other hand, she twisted her body in mid-air and kicked Basara squarely in the face.
As Basara flew backward, he did something strange—he threw the triple-bladed shuriken into the shadows. A distorted shadow appeared above Kagaribi's head, and the sharp blades dropped toward her.
Psh—!
Blood sprayed out. A ten-centimeter wound appeared on Cyan Wei's back.
Lying beneath Cyan Wei, Kagaribi's eyes widened. Blood that was slightly cooler than a normal person's fell onto her face.
A flash of clarity returned to Basara's eyes. Seeing the "youth" desperately protecting Kagaribi, he looked down at his blood-stained weapon and covered his face with his hands, letting out a howl of agony.
This feeling... it hurts...
So this is what pain feels like...
Seeing that Basara had stopped moving, Cyan Wei picked up Kagaribi and ran deep into the forest at high speed. Basara remained bent over, his long blue hair hiding most of his face, his trembling silhouette looking as if he were mourning in silence.